The United Challenge

Heading into my third year of Air Canada Elite, I'm now setting my sights on United Premier Gold. But acquiring it next year isn't good enough, I want it sooner.

If you make the flight requirements of 25,000 travel miles before June 1, United will give you status (Premier Silver) starting from June 1 for the rest of the year, and then again the following year. If you make 50,000 by June 1, you get Premier Gold. Well, I am an impatient person. So that wasn't good enough either.

So starting this month I'm doing the United Match Challenge. My goal is to reach 15 segments (take off and landing is one segment) or 12,500 status miles. I won't make the miles but I currently have 16 segments booked between now and April 9. Now, that is actually only two trips... so I'll be visiting a lot of airports in three months!

Not everyone can do this challenge, in order to qualify you need comparable status on a competing airline... in my case I have Gold on Cathay Pacific... (Not from flying but through a Platinum Amex card I got last summer). I wrote them a note, attached a copy of my Gold card from Cathay and 4 days later I got an email accepting me into the program. 

So as of January 9, I became unofficially Premier Gold until April 9. When I finish the challenge I will have Gold until the end of the year and I have enough travel planned to maintain that for the following year... maybe aiming a little higher even.

Here are are the flights I'll be completing to get this, a total of 16... 1 extra. Wish me luck.